Mubarak charged with murder over protest deaths

Ousted Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, will face trial before a criminal court over the killings of anti-regime protesters and corruption during his 30-year rule.

REUTERS - Egypt referred Hosni Mubarak to court on Tuesday over the killing of protesters and other charges, defying speculation that the former president would be spared public humiliation by the country's new military rulers.

Mubarak was ousted from power on Feb. 11 after mass demonstrations demanding an end to his 30-year rule. He was then ordered detained by prosecutors probing corruption during his rule and a crackdown on the protesters.

His two sons Alaa and Gamal, who many had believed was being groomed by his father to replace him, were also referred to the criminal court on a range of charges, the public prosecutor said in a statement.

The decision was announced before another demonstration planned in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the heart of the uprising, on Friday. Activists have called for a big turnout to demand faster reforms and a public trial for Mubarak and others.

"Every time the youth threaten to go to Tahrir Square again with a huge number of protesters, I think they make some concessions," said Hassan Nafaa, a political scientist and long-time critic of Mubarak.

The crimes listed by the prosecutor included "intentional murder, attempted killing of some demonstrators ... misuse of influence and deliberately wasting public funds and unlawfully making private financial gains and profits," the statement said.

The prosecutor charged former intelligence chief Hussein Kamal Al Din Ibrahim Salem, who has fled, with the same crimes.